The Issue: Judge Garaufis’ handling of a lawsuit that claims the FDNY has discriminated against minorities.
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Thank you for printing the piece by Paul Mannix (“Biased and Arrogant,” PostOpinion, Oct. 1).
Judge Nicholas Garaufis is behaving like a feudal lord. His actions need to be exposed.
How our judicial system grants one person as much power as he has is beyond me.
Sean Fitzgerald
Rockaway
Mannix’s screed against Garaufis over his rulings in the FDNY racial-discrimation case provides another reason why we need life tenure for federal judges.
Mannix concludes that Garaufis is biased primarily because the judge ruled against the city.
The fact that one party lost a case does not establish, or even suggest, that the judge was biased.
It is possible that a judge, despite acting in good faith, working very hard to apply the law and trying to be impartial, simply made a decision that is wrong, because the judge is human and he or she sometimes makes mistakes.
That’s why our system has appeals. The Second Circuit will let us know whether Garaufis’ latest rulings are right or wrong. Even if he is wrong, it is highly unlikely that the error resulted from any bias.
Garaufis should not be subjected to casual accusations of violating his oath of impartiality.
Paul Rooney
Glen Ridge, NJ
How come the media never ask Paul Washington, a past president of the Vulcan Society, how the past tests are discriminatory?
He is a captain, which means he passed three tests, two of which are extremely hard. It seems contrary to common sense that he can pass these tests but others can’t because of discrimination. One has to call his actions into questionTony Migliore
Valley Stream
I am a retired, fourth-generation firefighter. I took the test in 1968, at 20 years of age. I received a clean 100 percent, and in September of that year, I raised my hand to be sworn in.
One of the questions on that test was, “A fireman uses a glove to protect what part of his body?” — followed by four multiple choices. I was embarrassed to be the son of a deputy assistant chief of the Fire Department. How simple and idiotic can a test be?
Steve Whalen
Brooklyn